Cost of living: Student creates budget kettle and microwave recipes

Sophie Conant (second from left) enlisted other students to help her devise the recipes

A student has created a series of recipes that can be cooked with just a kettle and a microwave, using common ingredients provided by food banks.

Sophie Conant, 21, who is studying dietetics at the University of Nottingham, said she came up with the idea while volunteering at a food bank.

She said she wanted to help people make the most of the food they were given.

The university said it was very proud of her.

Ms Conant, a third-year student, said she had developed the 12 recipes - which are available to download online - using only tins and packets together with her fellow students.

She said she had been inspired by a woman she had helped at a local food bank.

All of the recipes use food from tins and packets

"When I handed a package over to a lady at the food bank, she looked in and said 'I don't know what to do with all this, as I only have a microwave and kettle - how will I make meals for my kids?'" Ms Conant said.

"That made me realise there is a need for some sort of guidance for people to help them make the most of the food they are given.

"As a dietetics student, I had the skills to try to do this."

The students worked to create meals including shepherd's pie, mushroom pasta, sausage casserole, Mexican rice and risotto.

Only one of the recipes - chickpea burgers - needs a cooker.

"By combining ingredients and introducing tinned veg or fruit, we were able to boost the nutritional value," she said.

"One good example of this was when we took a Pot Noodle, which isn't particularly nutritious in itself, and added hot dog sausages and tinned vegetables to increase the quantity and nutrients."

As well as being available to download, the recipes will be distributed in a booklet - Easy Budget Meals - at food banks in Nottingham and Loughborough.

Jane Musson, assistant professor in dietetics at the university, said: "Sophie took this project on alongside her studies and spent a lot of her own free time developing these recipes.

"We're really proud of what she and her fellow students have achieved."